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A senior member of Parliament’s Defense and Home Affairs Committee, James Agalga said the ministerial committee may be limited in its ability to apply certain essential elements to ensure a successful investigation into the Ejura killings.
In an interview on PM Express, the former deputy interior minister said the nature of the committee is such that it “may not have legal support to enforce attendance, compel witnesses to produce documents “.
This is, according to Mr. Agalga, a major setback for the ministerial committee because it could hurt the committee by setting up a public inquiry to investigate the shooting of Ejura by security agents which made two dead and four others seriously injured.
James Agalga explained that the fact that Home Secretary Ambrose Dery chairs the affairs of this ministerial committee which has not yet been constituted can be confrontational because the police department, while it will be the subject of the investigation, falls directly within its competence.
In this case, “if it becomes necessary [Interior Minister] to appear as a witness before this same committee, don’t you think there might be a conflict?
“If you consider the fact that the case even requires us to have ministers, the minister responsible for security to appear as a witness to help us unravel the circumstances which led to the shootings, you will understand why a ministerial committee may not be appropriate because the minister of the sector [Interior Minister] would have to oversee the affairs of this ministerial committee, ”he told JoyNews.
The Parliament’s Defense and Home Committee further suggested that the president should instead consider a full-fledged investigation as the way forward, to achieve the desired result.
“We need a commission of inquiry that would be able to conduct a full, impartial and fair investigation. “
He added that the commission of inquiry may have powers that may not be available to the ministerial committee.
“For example, powers such as the exercise of the High Court to order the production of documents, compel the appearance of witnesses, subpoena them if it wishes, the Ministerial Committee may not have a legal basis for requiring the appearance. , oblige the appearance of witnesses in the production of documents ”, he declared.
It comes after President Akufo-Addo ordered the Home Secretary to conduct a public inquiry into the circumstances that led to the deaths of two people in Ejura on Tuesday, June 29.
It happened when angry youths from Ejura took to the streets on Tuesday to demand justice and responsibility for the murder of an activist, Ibrahim Mohammed, known as Kaaka.
Akufo-Addo said the minister has ten days to provide a detailed report of the investigation.
“The Minister of the Interior is to provide a detailed report of the investigation, with recommendations on the appropriate measures to be taken by July 9, 2021,” parts of the statement read.
However, Mr Agalda noted that the 10-day ultimatum is woefully inadequate.
“If you treat this as a matter of urgency and therefore rush the investigation, you won’t have a full and impartial investigation in the process. They’re going to rush into the problems and give you a half-baked report that won’t serve our long-term best interests, ”he said.
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